English Oak

Quercus robur

English oaks tend to grow in moist, well-drained soils, although they are drought tolerant. You will find this tree off the trail in the Park Ridge East forest, a little ways down a slope. This particular English oak is easily recognizable by its curved, C-shaped trunk, which is what stood out to me about it in the first place. The tree likely had competition from older trees for sunlight as it was growing, so it began growing towards where it could reach the sunlight. When the older trees died and fell, it was able to grow back towards the most easily accessible sunlight.